About

I am Javier Villagra, a Systems Engineer and seasoned Architect with over 12 years of experience designing and implementing complex systems for large banks and fintech. Throughout my career, I have collaborated with various clients across LATAM, assisting them in developing innovative solutions aligned with their business needs.

After years of designing large-scale solutions in the banking sector, I am convinced that architectural design is the key to delivering the right solutions. Doing it right involves crafting a solution that consistently aligns with the business plan throughout the project's lifecycle, efficiently and cost-effectively addressing the client's needs. This should be the guiding principle of any IT project—solving a specific problem in an effective and efficient way, rather than pursuing technology for its own sake. The strategy is paramount.

Leveraging a solid understanding of AI, I provide clients with a distinctive competitive advantage in today's global landscape. Specializing in developing AI solutions, my expertise extends to creating reliable models, robust projects, and effective governance processes.

Now, as an independent tech advisor and consultant, I leverage all my experience to assist startups and mid-sized companies in adopting industry best practices, empowering them to achieve their business objectives.

Industry architecture frameworks are heavy and challenging to implement, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. 

Therefore, it is crucial to establish a customized approach to enterprise architecture based on an agile methodology, incorporating industry best practices and flexible enough to be tailored to the unique needs of each client.

Contact me to learn how this methodology can enhance your organization!

Some of my key achievements and contributions:

• Developed a detailed and comprehensive plan for migrating banking channels from SOA to Microservices architecture, selecting an appropriate tech stack with cutting-edge technologies such as Azure, OpenShift, k8s, Jakarta EE, Quarkus, Istio, Elastic Stack, Vault, Terraform, among others.

• Designed the whole intentional architecture (to be architecture) using Domain Driven Design Strategic Patterns.

• Created a complete and well-defined process for migrating SOA services to Microservices domains.

• Conducted a detailed assessment of project timelines and resource requirements.

• Led the team responsible for implementing new digital channels for the bank, providing guidance and direction for the successful implementation of a SOA solution using J2EE, IBM Integration Bus, Tomcat, Oracle database, among others.

• Developed high-level architectural specifications and design documents.

• Created strategic plans and identified gaps between product baseline and target state.

• Guided and assisted the development team in the whole process.

• Managed the project utilizing Scrum methodology, overseeing all aspects of project planning, execution, and monitoring.

• Developed a comprehensive integration strategy for connecting multiple third-party core systems with the channel's ESB.

• Conducted effective troubleshooting and resolved issues with coding, design and infrastructure.

• Led the restoration of a large-scale project in critical condition by collaborating with a team to implement a SOA banking channel solution. Employed a wide range of technologies including J2EE, WAS Liberty, IBM Broker, and MS-SQL server database to achieve a successful outcome.

• Reported directly to the CEO while overseeing all aspects of project planning, execution, and monitoring, ensuring that project goals were achieved and stakeholders were satisfied.

• Created a detailed and effective strategic plan for a complex project with a tight timeline.

• Managed the project using Scrum methodology.

• Led and aligned the project team towards achieving the bank's objectives.

• Served as a technical mentor, providing guidance and expertise to the team.

• Led a cross-functional team to gather comprehensive functional and non-functional requirements for a banking channel project. Utilized a diverse array of technologies, including J2EE, WebLogic, Oracle Service Bus, and Oracle databases, among others, to deliver a robust and reliable SOA solution.

• Created strategic plans and identified gaps between product baseline and target state.

• Identified the necessary skills and resources needed for the project and assembled a competent team.

• Conducted a complete analysis to identify and select the most suitable baseline product.

• Acted as a technical mentor and provided guidance to the team.

• Collaborated extensively in functional analysis meetings with the client to identify their business needs and worked closely with them to develop a tailored banking channel solution based on SOA.

• Developed a comprehensive plan for conducting the gap analysis in the project.

• Played a key role in gathering and analyzing technical requirements, ensuring that the final product met all necessary non-functional specifications.

• Effectively identified gaps between product baseline and target state.

I am available to provide consulting, advisory support and training for your organization. 

Feel free to email me if you wish to inquire about my fees, availability, or require additional information regarding the services I provide.

Enterprise Architecture * Solution Architecture * Agile Management * AI * Machine Learning * Deep Learning * Fintech * Project Management * Domain-Driven Design (DDD) * Microservices * Scrum * k8s * Java * Jakarta EE * Quarkus * Istio * ELK * Python * Scikit-learn * Numpy * Pandas * PyTorch * OpenCV